John 10:33: A Look at God's Representatives (Shaliach)

                             John 10:33: A Look at God's Representatives (Shaliach)

John 10:33 English Standard Version 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

 

NOTE: Greek is written in all capitals, so you have Trinitarian scholars reading their own bias into the text already. They just choose which letter "G" they want to capitalize, so they can promote their agenda.

 The definite article is missing here. In Greek, whenever this happens, you use "a" God. For example, Greek is a lot different than how we know English, for the Greeks there is no distinction of being light to the world and as a light to the world. To really understand it, we need to read the context. In other passages they would consistently translate it as "a man" when there is no definite article. The Jehovah Witness translation is wrong in John 1:1. However, they are correct in John 10:33. Also, the Mace translation and New English Bible has "a god" as well.

 The Jews are hypocrites in this passage. They are ok calling themselves the sons of God but when Jesus calls himself the Son of God, he is accused of blasphemy. Jesus is the Messianic judge, not God. Earlier on, in 10:24, the Jews even asked Jesus to admit he was the Christ, not God.

 

 

In Acts 12:22, Herod is called theos without the article, so the scholars have translated it as “god.” The same is true in Acts 28:6, when Paul was  bitten by a snake and the people expected him to die. When he did not die, “they changed their minds and said he was a god.” Since theos has no article, and since it is clear from the context that the reference is not about the true God, theos is translated as “a god.” It is a general principle that theos without the article should be “a god,” or “a divine.” Since there is no evidence that Jesus was teaching that he was God anywhere in the context, and since the Pharisees would have never believed that a man can be Yahweh, it makes no sense that they would be saying that he said he was “God.”

 

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Kings as God(s)

 

Psalm 2:7 English Standard Version 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

 

2 Samuel 7:14 English Standard Version 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men

 

Psalm 89:27 English Standard Version 27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

 

Zechariah 12:8 English Standard Version 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be LIKE David, and the house of David shall be LIKE God, LIKE the angel of the Lord, going before them.

 

Proverbs 16:10 English Standard Version 10 An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.

 

1 Kings 3:28 English Standard Version 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

 

Romans 13:1-7 English Standard Version 13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

 

2 Samuel 14:17 English Standard Version 17 And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is LIKE the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”

 

NOTE: Compare to Zechariah 12:8.

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Judges as God(s)

 

1 Samuel 2:25 King James Version

25 If one man sin against another, the JUDGE (God) shall judge him: BUT if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

 

Exodus 21:6 Douay-Rheims Bible 

6 His master shall bring him to the GODS, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.

 

Exodus 22:8-9 Douay-Rheims Bible 

8 If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be brought to THE GODS, and shall swear that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbour's goods, 9 To do any fraud, either in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or raiment, or any thing that may bring damage: the cause of both parties shall come to THE GODS: and if they give judgment, he shall restore double to his neighbour.

 

Exodus 22:28 

King James Version 28 Thou shalt not revile THE GODS nor curse the RULER of thy people.

 

Psalm 82:1 

King James Version 82 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among THE GODS.

 

Psalm 82:6 

King James Version 6 I have said, Ye are GODS; and all of you are children of the most High.

 

Judges 5:8 

English Standard Version 8 When new GODS were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?

 

Psalm 138:1 

English Standard Version 138 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before THE GODS I sing your praise

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Angels as God(s)

 

**Hebrews 1:13 supports that Jesus was never an angel**

 

Genesis 16:7 English Standard Version 7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

 

 

 Genesis 21:17 English Standard Version 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

 

Genesis 22:11 English Standard Version 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

 

 

Genesis 31:11-13 English Standard Version 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”

 

Genesis 32:24-30 English Standard Version 24 And Jacob was left alone. And A MAN wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

 

NOTE: Similar to Judges 13, Jacob thought he was wrestling a man at first. Hosea 12:3-4

 

 

Exodus 3:2,4,6,16 English Standard Version 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,

 

Exodus 13:21 New American Standard Bible 21 And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

 

Exodus 14:19 New American Standard Bible 19 Then the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

 

 

Exodus 23:20-21,23 English Standard Version 20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,

 

Joshua 5:13-14 English Standard Version  13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord.

 

NOTE: This is Michael, the Archangel. Not Jesus.

 

Judges 2:1 English Standard Version 2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you.

 

Judges 5:23 English Standard Version 23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

 

Judges 6:11-12 English Standard Version The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

 

Judges 13:3 English Standard Version 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

 

NOTE: The wife and Manoah thought they were talking to A MAN, a messenger of the Lord. Angels can be translated as human messengers as well, not always supernatural beings. If this would be a supernatural messenger she would have not asked about where he was from in verse 6, which the obvious answer would have been Heaven. Verse 8 has Manoah praying to the Lord for the MAN of God to come back. Therefore, they are distinct characters, not the same. Verse 16 has the angel decline dinner and tell Manoah to prepare a sacrifice to the Lord, not himself.

 

2 Samuel 14:17 English Standard Version 17 And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is LIKE the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”

 

2 Samuel 24:16 English Standard Version 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

 

1 Chronicles 21:15 English Standard Version 15 And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as HE was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

 

Daniel 3:25 English Standard Version 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

 

NOTE: Translations vary. The KJV has Son of God, the CEV has one who looks like a god, GNT has one who looks like an angel, and the ISV has a divine being. It is not wise to build a doctrine on one verse especially if it is a variant passage. Therefore, this verse cannot be used to support Jesus having a pre-existence.

 

Zechariah 1:12 English Standard Version 12 Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’

 

Zechariah 3:1,6-7 English Standard Version 3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

 

Zechariah 12:8 English Standard Version 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them.

 

Matthew 1:20 English Standard Version 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

 

Matthew 1:24 English Standard Version 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife

 

Matthew 2:13 English Standard Version  13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

 

Matthew 2:19 English Standard Version  19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

 

Matthew 28:2 English Standard Version 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

 

Luke 1:11 English Standard Version 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense

 

Luke 2:9 English Standard Version 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

 

Acts 5:19 English Standard Version 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said

 

Acts 8:26 English Standard Version 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place

 

Acts 12:7 English Standard Version 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

 

Acts 12:23 English Standard Version 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

 

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Other Principle of Agency Verses

Genesis 24:2 English Standard Version 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh

 

NOTE: Abraham's servant had Abraham's authority to find a wife for Issac.

 

 

Philemon 17 English Standard Version 17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

 

 

Genesis 19:12-14,18, 24 English Standard Version 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For WE are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting……18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords…..24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

 

NOTE: The two angels are God's representatives of destruction-two lords. Notice the We and the Lord both destroy the city. This does not support the Trinity. Both angels rained down sulfur on the cities.

 

 

Genesis 44:18 English Standard Version 18 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.

 

NOTE: Compare to John 5:18. NIV, BSB, NASB, AB, ISV, and MSB has EQUAL with Pharoah.

 

Genesis 45:4-8 New American Standard Bible 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold to Egypt. 5 Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save lives. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 So God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

 

NOTE: God sent Joseph as a representative

 

 

Exodus 12:12-13 English Standard Version 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

 

 

Exodus 12:23 English Standard Version 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you…..29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

 

Hebrews 11:28 English Standard Version 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

 

1 Corinthians 10:9-10 English Standard Version 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

 

 

1 Chronicles 21:1 English Standard Version21 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

 

 

2 Samuel 24:1 English Standard Version 24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

 

NOTE: God uses Satan as a representative.

 

Deuteronomy 29:2-6 English Standard Version 2  And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 3 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. 5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

 

NOTE: Moses speaks as God in the first person, as “I.”

 

 

Deuteronomy 31:3 English Standard Version 3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken.

 

NOTE: Joshua  as a representative sent by God.